Doxing

The term doxing is derived from the English word “documents” (short “docs”) for documents. Doxing (also doxxing) is the targeted collection of information about people with the help of the Internet. In this case, personal, often confidential data is researched with the aim of publishing it and thus exposing the person or harming him or her in any other way.

From the real names of anonymous activists to credit card data, the addresses of celebrities or sexual preferences, a wide variety of data is interesting for doxing.

What does the term doxing mean in detail?

To obtain information, the perpetrators use legal and illegal methods, such as research on social media, but also hacking online accounts or databases .

The motives for doxing can be very different:

1. Blackmail

In some cases, a doxing attack is preceded by an extortion attempt. The victim is supposed to pay a certain sum or take certain actions so that embarrassing details from his private life or secret company data are not published. If the person does not respond to the blackmailers’ demands, the data will be published as a consequence.

2. Political and social influence

It also happens that individual or allied activists gather information to pillory, intimidate or expose a common enemy if he appears under a pseudonym. For those who are persecuted in their country because of their political, religious or sexual beliefs, the disclosure of their true identity or address can be life-threatening. But doxing is also extremely unpleasant for public figures.

3. Bullying

Another motivation for doxing is the joy of embarrassing others. This can result from a supposed need for revenge or other personal reasons. It is sometimes reported that doxing is even practiced as a kind of competition: the more famous the compromised person, the more respected the perpetrator.

Where do I encounter the topic of doxing in my everyday work?

In your everyday work, you will (hopefully) rarely encounter doxing. Theoretically, however, it is possible, for example:

• That an unethical competitor is using doxing to harm your business.
• That a former employee feels unfairly treated by you as an ex-employer and tries to take revenge by doxing.
• That your company comes into contact with doxing in connection with a celebrity customer

What can I do to protect myself from doxing?

In general, protect yourself as far as possible against the data collection strategies of doxing operators. Among other things, the following measures are recommended:

• Be aware of all the information you share on the Internet. This also applies to forums and other social media.
• Use as restrictive privacy settings as possible on social media
• Sensitize your environment to the meaning that seemingly unimportant personal information can acquire when it is collected in a targeted manner. Spouses, friends and acquaintances are considered potential data sources in doxing.
• Be aware that online interlocutors who are personally unknown to you can be fictitious personalities with whom social engineering is carried out. Therefore, think carefully about what information you disclose.
• Protect your private data and your company’s data against unauthorized access, e.g. by hacking, phishing or Trojans.

Interesting background information

Further explanations and instructions for action from the Lower Saxony police on the subject of doxing